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Ginger Jar

by Kat
(USA)

This jar belonged to my grandmother and has been in her home for the last 60 years. Can you tell me anything about it? The glaze is bright and beautiful but has many tiny pin-prick holes and one larger brown spot. The bottom of the jar has a double circle, and the wooden top has "China" stamped in red in two places. The wooden bottom has a Chinese mark. Thank you!

Comments for Ginger Jar

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Wooden stand
by: Kat

Thank you, Peter.
Can you tell me about the wooden stand/tops for these jars? Were they made specifically for these jars and sold together? As I said, mine are intricately carved and the top has "China" in red stamped inside. Would that stamp be another confirmation of mid-late 19th century or later? Would the Chinese mark on the base do the same?

I have no information on marks on wooden stands, etc.. It likely means that the stand was intended for export. Some stands were/are made to measure for specific items. With items that could be fit used with an existing stand, however, it is likely that the pre-existing stand would be used.
It is the same with the lid, although wooden lids usually mean a replacement lid. Porcelain lids were frequently broken and a wooden replacements are made to order due to differences in the diameter of the mouth of the jar; it is unlikely that a wooden cover is from the same time the porcelain jar was made. We do still doorder wooden lids for items made hundered(s) of years ago, sometimes.

P.

dating
by: peter

Personally I think the time frame you mention (second hald of 19th century) is appropriate. But please understand that this is my own view. I do not know of any data or information sources that could give a more exact period. I believe there are no detailed records telling when these would have been made, exactly. It is likely that both the unglazed and glazed versions would have been made during the same period, for some time.
With most Chinese antiques it is almost impossible to pinpoint the manufacturing time more exactly than the period of two or three reigns, in the 19th century, as styles and manufacturing methods continued over extended periods of time without proper recording.

Late Qing
by: Kat

Thank you for this information. I have been reading around in your site and now know about the brown rust mark and the pin-prick holes! If this jar is late Qing, is there a way to date it more specifically? Or can I just assume it is mid-late 19th century? Also, you thought that it is possible that the wooden stand and lid might be more valuable that the jar itself. Why is that? I don't know what kind of wood the stand is made from, though it is intricately carved and has been with the jar for as long as I can remember -- 60 years or so. Thank you once again!

ginger jar
by: peter

Hi, thanks for the additional pictures.
This is a ginger jar with plum blossom decoration. The unglazed neck and way the blossoms are painted makes it look like a late Qing dynasty item.

On the surface it may look similar as other such late Qing dynasty jars, but the unglazed neck and shoulder usually mean that an item was made a bit earlier.

I had to check if the decoration was a 20th century printed copy, which it obviously isn't.

ginger jar
by: peter

Hello,
I would need a picture showing the whole bottom, including the foot rim, a close-up shot of the top rim and a partial picture of the decoration (the plum blossoms are of interest).

From this relatively small pictures alone it could be that it was made later in the 20th century, imitating Qing dynasty jars.

BTW, depending on the wood type the stand and lid now could have more value than the jar itself.

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Ginger Jar

by Kat
(USA)

flowers

Thank you, Peter, for examining the jar for me. Here are 4 more photos. The close-up of the blossoms contains the one brownish spot I referred to earlier, and you can also see two pin-prick holes in this same close-up.

Kat

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